There have been reports of irregularities in the Kalia scheme launched by the Naveen Patnaik government for farmers. Between 2019 and 2021, more than 12.72 lakh fake farmers have illegally availed the benefits of this scheme in the Biju Janata Dal government led by Naveen Patnaik. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said in its report tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday that a scam of Rs 782.26 crore has taken place under the guise of giving annual cash assistance to farmers under this scheme.
CAG, the body that audits the expenditure of the central and state governments, audited the “Krishak Assistance for Livelihood and Augmentation (KALIA) Yojana” launched by the Naveen Patnaik government in January 2019 before the assembly elections. It found that 65.64 lakh beneficiaries were given Rs 10,000 in the first year and then Rs 4,000 during 2019-21. Of these, at least 12.72 lakh did not meet the standards set by the government.
What is Kalia Yojana?
Kalia Yojana, launched just before the 2019 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, was aimed at bringing prosperity to farmers and reducing poverty of loanee and non-loanee farmers, sharecroppers and landless agricultural labourers of Odisha as well as taking care of the initial investment of each small and marginal farmer. The scheme was aimed at providing assistance to farmers for farming. It was also aimed at breaking the vicious cycle of debt and providing livelihood support to promote agriculture-related activities like goat, sheep, poultry, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping and fisheries. Under this, in the first year, Kalia beneficiaries used to get Rs 4,000 per year for two crops (kharif and rabi) which was later merged with the PM-Kisan scheme to become Rs 10000 per year. PM Kisan is a centrally funded scheme that gives Rs 6000 per year to farmers.
Kalia Yojana proved to be a game changer in the assembly elections
Kalia Yojana proved to be a game changer in the 2019 assembly elections as it helped Patnaik become CM for the 5th consecutive time and overcome anti-incumbency sentiment in rural Odisha. CAG, which conducted the audit for the period between 2019 and 2021, said that money was given to ineligible people despite the state government using various databases like SECC, VAHAN, IFMS and HRMS. The CAG audit found that the department was unable to implement the scheme properly due to lack of preparation in planning. According to the selection criteria, the head of a family should have got the benefit of Kalia assistance. However, analysis of the database revealed that multiple members of a household were selected in respect of 2.78 lakh families that included 5.72 lakh beneficiaries in the final list of beneficiaries.
What else is in the CAG report
Apart from giving money to ineligible beneficiaries, the scheme failed to fulfil its declared targets. Under the project, landless families were to be given a grant of ₹12,500 per family depending on the activity chosen by the family for goat rearing, fisheries kits, beekeeping and mushroom cultivation etc. However, the CAG audit found that Rs 2,007.67 crore was released in three installments to 18 lakh beneficiaries till March 2021 without training. Not providing necessary training to 14.04 lakh beneficiaries and releasing an amount of ₹1,755 crore for assistance to these vulnerable and needy groups does not fulfil the objectives of the scheme.